UNITED STATES –- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The hottest ticket in the nation is Mega Millions. There was no jackpot winner in Tuesday's Mega Millions drawing, so Americans woke up to a jackpot that's bulging at an estimated $267 Million for the Friday, March 2, 2007 drawing.

A total of 1,899,348 tickets across the nation won prizes in the Tuesday, February 27 Mega Millions drawing. That includes 18 tickets that each won $250,000 and 101 tickets that each won $10,000.*

The winning numbers were: 18-31-44-45-48 and the Mega Ball number was 18.

Those 18 tickets came within a heartbeat of winning the jackpot by matching the first five numbers and only missing the Mega Ball number. Those tickets were sold in California (3), Massachusetts (3), Michigan (2), New Jersey (1), New York (4), Ohio (1), Texas (3) and Washington (1).

This jackpot has been growing since January 9, when Mega Millions had its most recent jackpot winner. The jackpot has now rolled 14 times without a winner. The odds of winning the jackpot are approximately 1 in 176 million. The odds of winning any of the Mega Millions prizes are approximately 1 in 40.

Mega Millions is no stranger to exciting jackpots. On May 9, 2000, the jackpot for the Big Game (the forerunner of Mega Millions) grew to $363 million. There were two winning tickets in that drawing: one in Michigan and one in Illinois. That jackpot still holds the record as the largest Mega Millions / Big Game jackpot ever.

Mega Millions is played in 12 states: California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

Mega Millions drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 PM Eastern Time, 10:00 PM Central Time and 8:00 PM Pacific Time.

__________________
"Pro Football is like nuclear warfare. There are no winners, only survivors." Frank Gifford

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey -- As reported by the Associated Press: "There are just two winning tickets in the record $370 million Mega Millions jackpot -- one sold in New Jersey and the other in Georgia, lottery officials announced Wednesday.

"No one had come forward to claim their share of the prize at midday, but lottery officials in both states were expecting to hear from the winners soon.

"One winning ticket was traced back to Campark Liquors in Woodbine, New Jersey, on the state's southern end. The other was sold at Favorite Market in Dalton, Georgia, lottery representatives in the two states said..."

__________________
"You gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite?" - Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs